The Height Study and the Kennedy Center Expansion highlight Thursday’s September 12 Commission agenda. The meeting starts at 1:00 PM with the Height Study agenda item, to release the draft federal interest report and findings for a 30-day public comment period. Next up Architect Steven Holl will be on hand for an information presentation on the Kennedy Center expansion. The previously scheduled review of the proposed Eisenhower Memorial was withdrawn by the applicant, the National Park Service on behalf of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission.

Since commencing the Height Study in March 2013, NCPC and the District of Columbia have competed three major work products and heard from citizens online and at meetings throughout the city. The study advances to its third and final phase on Thursday with the Commission's release of the draft federal interest report and findings for a 30-day public comment period. A special Commission meeting on the Height Study will be held on Wednesday, October 2 to accept oral public testimony and written comments will be accepted through October 14. Both will inform development of the final recommendations, to be transmitted to Congress in November.

You are invited to attend an information session at our office on Wednesday, September 25, to recap what’s been completed to date, hear a summary of the draft report and findings, and provide your opinions.

NCPC has advocated for a vision to transform South Capitol Street into a vibrant, mixed-use urban boulevard through an ongoing partnership with agencies such as DC Office of Planning, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and the Maryland Department of Transportation. A study released by NCPC in 2003 made both land use and transportation recommendations, and envisioned active public spaces on either end of a new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. These new spaces would provide opportunities for gatherings, civic art, and access to parkland and trails along the waterfront.

DDOT is moving forward with the South Capitol Street Corridor Project. The Commission will review concept designs at its October 3 meeting. More information, including project renderings and a presentation PDF, is available on the project website.